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Bound Away - a great piece of work
By Chris Cooper Eric Brace writes damn fine songs. His band Last Train Home plays these songs pretty damn well,…
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Recommended diversions
Schoolhouse Rock Growing up on mindless hours of Saturday morning cartoons, I never knew how much fun parts of speech…
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Christmas reading: Some holiday ideas ranging from Christmas to religion in America
This week letÕs peruse three unrelated books whose only commonality lies in the fact that they were either written by…
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To Russia, with love: HART concludes season with Chekhov's The Three Sisters
By Michael Beadle By the end of the 19th Century, the once powerful Russian aristocracy was crumbling, and playwright Anton…
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Zoro's Field wins state non-fiction prize
Author Thomas Rain Crowe has been selected to receive the 2005 Ragan Old North State Award for his naturalist-based work…
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Cell tower proposal splits White Oak neighbors
Two Cingular cell towers proposed for the White Oak and Panther Creek communities - a rugged and rural part of…
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Community activist faces embezzlement charges
A well-known Waynesville community leader has been charged with embezzling a $15,000 donation made to the Pigeon Community Development Club…
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County declines to consider limits on construction noise
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County residents will continue to suffer the bang and the clatter of a…
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Dealing with strays a hit or miss affair in Swain
Every Monday morning, Justin Mack roles through the Swain County dispatch office to pick up a list of the week's…
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Exhibit by artist Jesse Wills to benefit home for autistic individuals
Jesse Wills, a local artist who has autism, will present his paintings at an art show at Hardwood Gallery at…
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The Language of Glass: World famous glass artist Joel Philip Myers brings impressive exhibit to WCU Fine Arts Museum
By Michael Beadle On pedestals they stand. Whimsical arrangements of colored glass bottles, leaning, bending to resemble animated statues caught…
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CYHSY makes their own way
By Joe Hooten Popular music is made trendy by sweaty handshakes, neon dollar signs, shady deals, and artificial relationships that…
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Recommended diversions
Jack Russells I was surprised to discover that Jack Russell terriers bear the name of a 19th century English clergyman…
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Superb acting highlights HART’s ‘Three Sisters’
In The Three Sisters, Anton Chekhov tells audiences that suffering, education and work will lay the foundation for a new…
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Triumph from tragedy: Franklin film student premiers ‘Tragedy of Glady’ to rave reviews nationwide
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The crowd held its breath, barely shifting in creaky metal chairs as a stunned,…
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Lessons of war: Learning from the Spanish Civil War – the only time in history when Anarchists came to power
By Michael Beadle It’s no secret the “War in Iraq” is not going well. Even the most optimistic reports show…
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Finding wetlands in the most unlikely places
As Mickey Henson waded into a brambly thicket bordering a town park in Sylva, he stopped a few steps in,…
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In Forest Hills, the flip of a coin decides mayoral race
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Forest Hills mayoral election came down to the flip of a coin Tuesday…
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Haywood, Maggie Valley chambers reach out to each other
The boards of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce and Maggie Valley Visitor Center and Convention Bureau met last week…
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Seeing nature through new eyes
When Mickey Henson looks at a creek, he sees a physics equation.
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Macon residents worried about devlopment
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A long-range study that analyzed perceptions about the mountain landscape among Macon County residents…
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HCC has new president
Dr. Rose Harrell Johnson, currently working for the Virginia Community College system, has been appointed president of Haywood Community College.
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Requiem for a heavyweight
The eastern hemlock has long been one of my favorite trees. Like many people reading this column, my wife, Elizabeth,…
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Contemplating the end of Eden
“At times I think there are no words But these to tell what’s true And there are no truths outside…
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The job’s done, now it’s time to leave
By Lee Shelton • Guest Columnist The U.S. recently incurred — and then quickly exceeded — the 2,000th casualty in…
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Who’s dying in Iraq?
Seventy-five percent of the deaths were active duty and 24.8 percent were National Guard or Reserves. Of these, 67.9 percent…
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Paying the price – a parents’ weekend at WCU
By Nancy Geiger • Guest Columnist I went to my first college parent’s weekend this month. I’d been to plenty…
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Schools must help with obesity woes
It should come as no shock to learn that children in Western North Carolina, as in the rest of this…
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Dealing with the struggles of keeping the Hemlock in WNC
The clock is ticking for hemlock trees in Western North Carolina.
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A season of our own
Here’s a riddle for you. If the leaves turn in the mountains and there are no tourists to see them,…
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New shelter near Max Patch ready for hikers
A new Appalachian Trail shelter that can sleep 18 backpackers has been built in the Max Patch area of Haywood…
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Taking it outside: The Balsam Mountain Trust offers nature hikes, outdoor seminars, workshops and research studies in a richly diverse tract of 4,400 acres in Jackson County
By Michael Beadle At first it sounds like a contradiction — a land developer interested in protecting the environment. Is…
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Landslide death case ends in mistrial
A wrongful death lawsuit surrounding a landslide in Maggie Valley was declared a mistrial this week after a jury failed…
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Wide variety of influences leaves sump’m for everyone
By Chris Cooper Let’s just go ahead and say it: terrible title for an album. Thankfully, a lot of the…
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Lamotte’s work branches beyond music with non-profit
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer David Lamotte is a safe driver. Headed south to Columbus, Ga., last Friday afternoon…
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Recommended diversions
“Elizabethtown,” Soundtrack From everything I hear, the movie turned out to be entirely less than it was cracked up to…
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Pottery, naturally
By Greg Sessoms • Correspondent Upon entering Susan Balentine’s home off of Howell Mill Road in Waynesville, one could be…
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Remembering the Civil War
This year marks 140 years since the end of the American Civil War. In that time a gigantic library of…
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The body count keeps rising
As of Nov. 20, the total number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom climbed to 2,083. Eleven more…
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Choosing replacement puts board, director at odds
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer There was a showdown at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Fontana Regional Library Board.…
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Finishing well: Canton native dies in a war he didn’t support for the country he did
By Michael Beadle Michael Parrott wanted to be in Iraq. He told his wife Meg about it every Sunday morning…
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Latest Ghost Town suitor eyes May 2006 opening
The owner of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad has teamed up with a venture capitalist and an amusement operator to…
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New laws should help curtail meth plague
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Swain County Chief Deputy Jackie Fortner never thought he’d equate marijuana with more simple…
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Trial forces widower to relive mountainside tragedy
Almost two years ago, a retired couple from Florida was crushed in their home after the hillside behind their house…
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Making use of natural surroundings
When the Cherokees emerged as a distinctive culture more than a thousand years ago, they situated themselves so as to…
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Pressure mounts to get out of Iraq
Many of us who call these mountains home rely on the isolation, the distance from the cold realities of modern…
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Brothers in arms
Jacob, Luke and Ben Sutton were once considered renegade snowboarders at Cataloochee Ski Area.
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Chickadee code cracked
Chickadee #1: Chick-a-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE!-DEE! Translation: There’s a sharp-shinned hawk behind you!
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NOC founder inducted into Hall of Fame
Payson Kennedy, co-founder of Nantahala Outdoor Center, was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Whitewater Hall of Fame…
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Ranger Rick rappels into cave to rescue dog
Rangers with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park rappelled into a 70-foot underground cave last week to rescue a hunting…
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